Could the Jets Move Both Scheifele & Hellebuyck?
There’s something a little topsy-turvy about the Winnipeg Jets right now. On the surface, they’re still a competitive team with elite pieces. But underneath that, you get the sense things might not be as stable as they look.
And that’s where the strange question starts to creep in: if Winnipeg ever makes a real pivot, do the two biggest names—Connor Hellebuyck and Mark Scheifele—become tied together?
Scheifele is productive and tied to the Jets organization.
Scheifele is the interesting one here because, on paper, there’s no reason to move him. He’s still productive, still durable, and he just put up a massive 100+ point season (103 points, 36 goals, 67 assists). That’s elite-level center production, and his contract—five years remaining at a reasonable number for a top-line pivot—looks like the kind of deal contenders usually chase, not dump.
But hockey isn’t always about the numbers. It’s about timing, direction, and sometimes discomfort. If Winnipeg ever decides it’s not a “retool on the fly” situation anymore, then everything changes. And that’s where the Hellebuyck angle matters. If the Jets’ elite goaltender ever signals uncertainty, be it with his contract, ambition, or just alignment with the team’s direction, it forces a harder organizational question: are we still building around this core, or are we reshaping it?
And once that question gets asked out loud, Scheifele suddenly becomes part of it. Because here’s the uncomfortable logic teams don’t like admitting: If you move a franchise goalie, you don’t just “replace” him—you often reset the whole competitive window.
Related: Hockey Says Goodbye to a Great 3-Time Cup Winner.
For some reason, the rumours about Hellebuyck leaving the Jets persist.
So the idea starts floating. Not as a confirmed plan, but as a hockey-world thought experiment: if Winnipeg ever pulled the trigger on Hellebuyck, would Scheifele really stay behind on a team that’s pivoting younger or cheaper? Or does he become the most valuable trade chip in the system?
That’s where Montreal enters the conversation. A team like the Canadiens, already searching for a true 2C behind Nick Suzuki, suddenly becomes a natural landing spot for a high-end veteran center. Scheifele’s scoring, experience, and consistency fit that need perfectly—assuming the cost doesn’t scare them off.
But the real question isn’t about Montreal. It’s about Winnipeg.
Just how solid is the Winnipeg Jets’ future without Connor Hellebuyck?
Because this is what’s “in the air” right now: not trade certainty, but structural uncertainty. A team that looks stable… until you start asking whether its two most important players are still aligned with its next chapter. And once that doubt exists, even quietly, the league tends to do what it always does.
It starts circling.